I've always had passive speakers driven by an amp/receiver and then run a pre-out line level subwoofer signal out to an active subwoofer. There are few tower speakers on the market that have built in amps for their bass woofers. How does that work?
My amp is sending a full range amplified signal down the speaker wires. Does the crossover in the speaker "throw away" the power that went into amplifying the low frequency and redirect it to its own internal amp?
I'm guessing that it has to, but it doesn't sound like a good way to connect. The signals going to get amplified twice which at the very least means twice the noise. Line level has to be the most efficient because so many receivers & separates have them.
Why then do speaker manufacturers include powered woofers? In a showroom, doing an A/B comparison betweens, the semi-active speaker will generally sound better because it's basically bi-amp, but you always have to pay more for the model that has an amp in it.
For example, the Martin Logan Vantage costs $1500 more than the Vista, but what if we could have hooked up a $1500 dedicated sub amp to the Vistas when we A/B'd them?
Does that make sense? Say my budget was $5000. I could either get the semi-active Vantage and use my existing amp or I could get the Vista, use my current amp for the panel, and a new dedicated amp to bi-amp to the woofers. Which combo is really better for my $5000?
My amp is sending a full range amplified signal down the speaker wires. Does the crossover in the speaker "throw away" the power that went into amplifying the low frequency and redirect it to its own internal amp?
I'm guessing that it has to, but it doesn't sound like a good way to connect. The signals going to get amplified twice which at the very least means twice the noise. Line level has to be the most efficient because so many receivers & separates have them.
Why then do speaker manufacturers include powered woofers? In a showroom, doing an A/B comparison betweens, the semi-active speaker will generally sound better because it's basically bi-amp, but you always have to pay more for the model that has an amp in it.
For example, the Martin Logan Vantage costs $1500 more than the Vista, but what if we could have hooked up a $1500 dedicated sub amp to the Vistas when we A/B'd them?
Does that make sense? Say my budget was $5000. I could either get the semi-active Vantage and use my existing amp or I could get the Vista, use my current amp for the panel, and a new dedicated amp to bi-amp to the woofers. Which combo is really better for my $5000?
